Light energy irradiators have been used for providing intense energy radiation in a wide range of applications. For instance, ultraviolet (UV) irradiators have been used in the curing of polymers such as photopolymer paints, the curing of inks and a variety of finishing coatings, the photo activation of adhesives, varied uses in the graphic arts and other areas in research and manufacturing. Curing is produced by a polymerization reaction initiated by ultraviolet light, changing a component of the coating from a liquid to a solid state almost instantaneously. A UV lamp or other light source can be used in such a manner to be supported adjacent a reflecting surface which is configured to provide a focused reflection of the light. When used for curing, a reflector system may have an elliptical profile reflector surface to provide a focused optical configuration wherein the light energy is concentrated into a narrow band of energy on the curing surface. Typically, because of the speed of curing, elliptical reflectors are used in systems wherein the object having a curable coating, for instance, is carried past the concentrated light band on a conveyor or other advancing conveying means.
One of the problems with curing systems of the character described above is the inability of the system to adequately and/or efficiently cure coatings on three-dimensional objects. For instance, when curing a curable coating or finish on a contoured cabinet door, the door has multiple edges and the face of the door has a variety of flat and/or rounded surfaces to provide an aesthetically pleasing profile when the door is hung and hinged at the front of the cabinet. When the door is conveyed past a curing light source, the door presents top surfaces and a variety of side surfaces. It is quite difficult to consistently cure the coating on the top surfaces with the same peak intensity and total energy in curing the coating on the side surfaces. In other words, the top surfaces typically run horizontally past the light source, but the side surfaces are oriented more vertically if not in absolute vertical orientations. This makes consistent curing extremely difficult because the peak intensity and total energy from the light source is not the same for all surfaces of the three-dimensional object. The present invention is directed to systems and/or apparatus for solving these problems.